Evaluation of the coordination of an Early Intervention Centre with the First Cycle of Primary Education (0-3years)

Session Information

09 SES 12 B, Assessments in Elementary and Primary Education

Parallel Paper Session

Time:
2012-09-21
09:00-10:30
Room:
FCT - Aula 15
Chair:
Sarah Frahm

Contribution

The present intervention proposals in Early Intervention (EI) set out the need to promote the work in the natural environment of the child (Dunst, 2007, Dunst et al 2000, 2001, Guaralnick, 2011, Rantala et al., 2009). In such environment, the family plays a key role, but also the infant school and the first cycle of Early years education play a predominant role. The intrinsic characteristics of Early years schooling favour and promote learning and are clearly taken advantaged of, by many of the objectives of EI. EI has an educational nature that generates possibilities to promote in the child communication and integration, allowing the use of a more active and participative methodology than in the out patient treatment, it entails a more natural context for the child, in which learning through imitation plays an important role. Hence, in our country there is a worry about taking advantage of these resources so they could be a quality element to add to the intervention proposals in EI (Aranda & Viloria, 2004, García Sánchez, 2002a, 2002b, Millá, 2003, 2004, Ponte, 2004, Perpiñán, 2009).

 

The objective in which a child with EI needs, takes advantages of the richness of Early years environment, happens by generating competences among the professionals in this environment in order to pay attention to the special needs of the child (Perpiñán, 2003, 2009), changing attitudes towards disability, promoting good practice, generating confidence, etc. In this sense, the coordination of the centre for EI with professionals from the Early years settings is a priority, not only to get to know the child and his/her characteristics, but also to favour continuity and enrichment of the intervention objectives set out by EI and to contribute positively to the creation of the competent desired environment for the development of the child. Therefore, we must promote the coordination between EI centre and Early Years setting and we must carry out the necessary efforts, to evaluate the achieved coordination and to carry out proposals of improvement.

 

Furthermore, the early year’s stage has a marked preventive and compensating nature. Given the great importance of early intervention in order to avoid the intensification of development problems, this stage is critical. Therefore, it requires maximum attention and a coordinated approach, especially in relation to children with EI needs. It is therefore necessary that early year teachers share with support services, the search of guidance about the preventive dimension of their work, identification and valuation of pupil’s needs and decision taking which will allow the introduction of adjustments in education planning. In any case, these services and the early intervention particularly, must widen their performance sphere towards improving the general determinants of education supply.

Method

This research project has analysed, through a quantitative study, none experimental of descriptive cut, different aspects of the coordination between the different IE agents involved (families, educators, counsellors and therapists of EI). In total there has been a participation of 94 EI agents in the study (of an intentional requested sample of 122 EI agents): 33 families, 39 educators from early years settings that hosted these children in their settings, 7 professionals from psycho pedagogy counselling teams of early intervention and 15 therapists from the ASTRAPACE Centre in Murcia. The association for the treatment of people with cerebral palsy and similar pathologies (ASTRAPACE) has in Murcia, an EI centre that at the present time has a certified number of intervention processes (according to the rule ISO-UNE-9000-2001, from May 2007 and renewed in 2009) This study has been carried out through a questionnaire method, applying 4 different questionnaires, that although have a common base, were specifically adapted for the reality of families and for each of the professional groups studied. These questionnaires made of between 13 and 21 questions, were designed through the application of judgement techniques from experts. The data has been analysed by frequency, correlations and ANOVAS.

Expected Outcomes

The results achieved, allow us to highlight that the program of coordination with early year schools carried out from the EI centre is much esteemed and positively valued by the different groups involved. Therefore there are possible areas of improvement. One of them would be the avoidance of duplicated transmission information, to the family from the different professional groups, or even between the professionals. The results obtained allow us to define the type of information managed in the coordination tasks that the people involved valued especially positively. Among the group of therapists from the EI centre, they stress the need of insisting and assuring they have convenient times for the exchange of the necessary information among therapists of direct intervention and the person responsible for the coordination with educators of EI, with the aim of not having to use other time spaces which were initially thought for different aims. The conclusions of this study have been discussed and interpreted in collaboration with EI professionals involved in the program of coordination with early year schools. Thanks to this, it has been possible to offer proposal of improvement which have been joined within the mechanisms of quality warranty of the EI centre.

References

Aranda, R. y Viloria, C de Andrés. (2004). La organización de la atención temprana en la educación infantil. Tendencias pedagógicas, 9, 217-246. Dunst, C. J. (2007). Early intervention for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities. In S. Odom, R. H. Horner, M. E. Snell, & J. B. Blacher (Eds.), Handbook of developmental disabilities (pp. 161–180). New York: Guilford. Dunst, C. J., Bruder, M. B., Trivette, C. M., Raab, M., & McLean, M. (2001). Natural learning opportunities for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Young Exceptional Children, 4, 18–25. Dunst, C. J., Hamby, D., Trivette, C. M., Raab, M., & Bruder,M. B. (2000). Everyday family and community life and children’s naturally occurring learning opportunities. Journal of Early Intervention, 23, 151–164. García Sánchez, F.A. (2002a). Atención Temprana: elementos para el desarrollo de un modelo integral de intervención. Bordón, 54(11), 39-52 García Sánchez, F.A (2002b). Reflexiones acerca del futuro de la atención temprana desde un modelo integral de intervención. Siglo Cero, 32 (2),5-14. Guralnick, M.J. (2011). Why early intervention woks. A systems perspective. Infant and Young Children, 24, 6-28. Millá, M.G. (2003). La calidad en Atención Temprana. Minusval, Marzo, 71-74. Millá, M.G. (2004). La calidad en los servicios de atención temprana: una propuesta de futuro. En J. Pérez López y A.G. Brito de la Nuez (Eds.). Manual de Atención Temprana (pp. 369-382). Madrid: Pirámide. Ponte, J. (Coord.) (2004). Guía de estándares de Calidad en Atención Temprana. Madrid. Imserso. Rantala, A., Uotinen, S. & McWilliam, R.A. (2009). Providing early intervention within natural environments. Infant and Young Children, 22, 119-131.

Author Information

Universidad de Murcia
Métodos de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Educación
Murcia
Cristina Sánchez (presenting)
UNIVERSIDAD DE MURCIA
MIDE
SPAIN
Astrapace, Murcia, Spain
Astrapace, Murcia, Spain

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